Tasmania has bucked the tidy trend to be the only state in the country to record an increase in litter over the past decade, according to new research.

The latest Keep Australia Beautiful (KAB) National Litter Index 2014/15[i] revealed a 24 per cent rise in rubbish across the island state when comparing 2005 and 2015 figures.

Other states such as Victoria had a 65 per cent reduction in litter and New South Wales recorded a 39 per cent drop between 2005 and 2015.

“These findings prove that environmental awareness and public education campaigns about the cost and harm caused by litter are hitting the mark on the mainland,” said KAB Chair Rob Thomas.

“However, there is clearly still more work to be done.’’

Mr Thomas said some regions were tracking well above the national average of 49 items of litter per 1000m2.

“Northern Territory’s average is 62 items of litter per 1000m2 and Tasmania’s is 73 items per 1000m2 so these are litter hot spots,’’ he said.

Mr Thomas said specific places in every state and territory were being used as dumpsites.

“For instance, industrial sites – the area between the fence and the gutter – recorded the largest volume of litter when compared with beaches, parks, shopping centres and other sites surveyed,” he said.

“Retail strips – from shopfronts to the gutter – and along the sides of highways are also highly littered.’’

The Index findings followed new KAB research into Australians’ attitudes to litter which found more 94 per cent of people were upset by seeing litter in their community[ii].

“Despite this, only one-third of Australians said they always or often picked up litter when they saw it,’’ Mr Thomas said.

“There’s clearly a disconnection between what they think about litter and how they actually behave.

“If we can match people’s thoughts with their actions when it comes to keeping our country clean and beautiful, we should continue see a downward trend in litter across all of the country.’’

NATIONAL TABLE OF LITTER ITEMS PER 1000m2

STATE

2005/06

2014/15

DIFFERENCE IN PERCENTAGE

NATIONAL

70

49

-35%

VIC

71

25

-65%

ACT

*68

37

-46%

NSW

79

48

-39%

SA

60

45

-25%

QLD

89

68

-24%

WA

60

50

-17%

NT

*64

62

-3%

TAS

59

73

+24%

Earliest available annual figures in 2006/07

Find the full Keep Australia Beautiful National Litter Index 2014/15 at http://kab.org.au/litter-research/